The New Gear
by ramenreignss
Summary: He's been on thin ice with her since his betrayal, but he finds her in his locker room two weeks later and all she gives him is jokes and hope. [ Established Seth/Nikki relationship ]


**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!**

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Walking in the new gear wasn't as difficult as Seth thought it would be. Sure, he was starting to feel the beginnings of chafing and later he was definitely going to curse whoever came up with the final decision on his new ring gear. But for now, it wasn't too bad—if he ignored all the hushed snickers and amused eyes following him. He tried not to rage too hard on the fact, though these people were supposed to fear him now that he was aligned with the Authority again. This was all just ridiculous!

He did his best not to let it get to him as he hurried to his locker room so he could finally change out of this gear.

He busted into the room quickly, shutting the door behind him silently. Turning around, he was surprised to find Nikki Bella walking around idly in the small room donning a short red dress—_God_, he loved her in red—and a pair of those expensive heels that he sadly knew the designer's name (these ones were Miu Miu, and these were actually a pair of her cheaper shoes).

Nikki was hardly getting any matches these days, so she figured there was no point to change into her own gear. Of course, this was punishment for her sister's actions (just like Stephanie McMahon putting her in the triple threat match). It was rather unprofessional of the Authority, in her opinion. But God forbid she actually voiced her viewpoints in this place anymore. She'd probably get fired.

"Nikki?" Seth asked, almost not believing that she was actually there.

The brunette turned around to face him. Her arms crossed over her chest and her lips quirked in amusement. "I hope you don't think I'm helping you out of _that_."

Seth bowed his head, chuckling softly with relief. He's been on extremely thin ice with Nikki since betraying Dean and Roman and aligning himself with the Authority. They haven't even really spoken to each other much since then, and he's just been waiting for the hat to drop. Was she staying or was she leaving? For the past two weeks, he's been hoping and praying for her to stay. Maybe her being here now was his prayers being answered?

He stepped more into the room, glancing up at her with a sly look in his dark eyes. "You're not going to help me? But you're my favorite candidate to undress me."

His hear swelled happily when she turned her head laughing. So, he still had that affect on her, which was excellent for him.

"It won't be sexy taking those off of you, Seth. It'll be sweaty and gross." She admitted, making a distasteful face.

"Hey, that's not true. I can so make it sexy for you." He promised, stepping closer to her now as his confidence grew.

Nikki playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Oh please, Rollins. Sure, your butt looks fantastic in those, but it really isn't going to be fantastic getting that sticky butt out of those horrendous pants."

"You think my butt looks fantastic?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Nikki smiled and shook her head. "You know you have a great butt. Stop fishing for compliments." She joked and Seth was overjoyed because of that. It was the norm in their relationship to joke around and tease each other. It was them and this gave Seth hope for their future.

"So, when were you planning on telling me?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side.

Seth mocked the gesture in confusion. "Telling you what exactly?"

"That you were auditioning to become a Power Ranger." Nikki laughed at her own joke and Seth could only shake his head. He couldn't even be mad. He was too happy that she was here and laughing to be mad.

"That was cold, Nikki. Really cold." He told her in fake seriousness.

Chocolate eyes sparkled with amusement and Seth couldn't keep the stupid grin off his face. The time away from her had been absolute hell. Yes, he was one of those guys who were desperate for his lady, and he had no shame admitting that. Nikki Bella was he love of his life, as cliché as that was, but he can't even comprehend his life without her now. Two weeks ago, he took a risk of losing her along with his friends. All he could do was hope that she wouldn't turn him away and give him a chance to explain himself. He honestly had no idea what he would do if Nikki walked away from him and their relationship.

Seth took another step closer, their chests almost touching now. Their eyes never left each other's. His still gloved hands reached out, cupping her tanned smooth cheeks. Nikki gave him a small smile, and like a schoolboy, Seth's stomach did a gigantic flip. Without wasting another precious second, he pressed his lips against hers.

And Seth was immediately in heaven when she kissed him back.

Nikki's lips slid against his. Her hands shot up and her fingers dove into his two-toned hair. His warm tongue brushed against her lips seeking entrance. Nikki immediately complied. Their tongues clashed together and their hands began roaming around each other, trying to feel anything and everything all at once. She pulled away suddenly, making a noise of surprise when Seth grabbed her by the hips and lifted her off the ground. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. Her eyes were wide in shock, but he was glad to see the edges of her lips quirk. He grinned at her quickly before crashing his lips back on to hers.

Her heart thudded excitedly against her chest as Seth laid her down on the bench. His chest pressed tightly against hers as his lips left her own and he peppered kisses down her chin. She moaned happily and arched her lower half against his.

Seth pulled up suddenly, wincing painfully. "You can't do that." He practically whimpered and Nikki gave him a questioning look. "Not while I'm still in these pants."

She blinked a few times, and she tried to suppress her giggling, but she ended up bursting into loud laughter. Seth sighed deeply as Nikki buried her face into the crook of his neck and continued to laugh like this was the most hilarious thing in the world. He didn't find it very funny, however.

"It's not funny, Nicole." He stated, clearly ill-amused.

"But it is!" She guffawed. "Who the hell even chose this outfit for you?"

"I don't know, but I hate them." He grumbled, leaning down to rub his nose against hers affectionately despite her laughing at him.

"Probably the Authorit—" She stopped short. Seth pulled back, looking down at her curiously. Her brows were furrowed together as if she just realized something. "Sorry." She whispered, afraid he may be angry with her now.

Seth frowned. "Don't be sorry."

"I feel…" She trailed off, looking away and shaking her head. "Never mind."

"No," he pushed some hair from her face and forced her to look at him again, "tell me how me you feel. Please… don't hold back. Just tell me how you feel, Nikki."

He didn't want anything to change between them. He didn't want her to hold anything back or feel too uncomfortable to talk to him. That was the great thing about their relationship-their willingness to be open with each other. He didn't want that to change now. Then again, he never told her of his plans to end the Shield, so perhaps her hesitancy was justified.

Nikki worried her bottom lip, contemplating if she should do as he said. It was astounding to her how it suddenly felt so difficult to talk to him. Two weeks ago, they didn't have this problem. Two weeks ago, everything seemed right until he shocked the world and herself with his actions. Finally, she sighed and gave in. "I feel like I'm stepping over eggshells around you now. I feel like there's this wall between us and I can't get around it. I feel like if I say the wrong thing around you then everything's just going to fall apart." Her hands went to his chest and she gently pushed him up so she could sit up. She semi-straddled him, her legs draped over the sides of his, and she ran a hand through her hair. "I feel like we can't really be ourselves with each other anymore."

"That's not true." Seth declared, cupping her face and looking at her with intense eyes. "It's not true, Nikki. There's no wall and there's no reason why we can't be ourselves with each other. Just because I've joined the Authority doesn't mean we can't be ourselves."

She shook her head against his hands. "They don't like me, Seth. And I don't like them. I never will."

"Listen to me carefully, Nikki Bella. I don't care how they feel about you or how you feel about them. All I care about is how we feel about each other." He told her sternly. He didn't care who he aligned himself with or who he worked for; when it came down to Nikki, she was the only thing that mattered to him.

Nikki wanted to believe him, because that was what she wanted in the end—for her and Seth to be happy. But she knew down the line this whole thing was going to get to them. Because she was going to let it. She couldn't forever accept the fact that her boyfriend betrayed his brother's—oh wait, _former business partners_—and joined the people who ended her sister's career and were the people responsible for her brother-in-law's current condition. In her mind, those people were evil! And if Seth was now one of them, she could feel herself beginning to not trust him either. But for now, she wanted to believe him and pretend that everything was going to be alright.

"You promise?" She almost whimpered, her big chocolate eyes melting his heart. He'd literally do anything for her when she looked at him like that, and she knew it, too.

"I promise." Seth affirmed, rubbing his thumbs over the sides of her face.

She rested her hands on his chest and she allowed a small smile to break across her face. Trying to lighten the mood again, she chuckled, "You know, if it were up to me, I'd have you out there in the smallest pair of trunks I could find."

Seth laughed softly, relieved that she was expressing her usual perversion to him. It was oddly comforting. "I'd gladly wear whatever you pick out for me." He gently grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close so she could fully straddle him now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he smiled in content. "I love you."

Nikki looked at him through her hooded lashes before moving forward and kissing him briefly. She pulled away, resting her forehead against his. "I love you, too."

Hearing those words—those words that were like magic coming from her—set fire a fond feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was the happiest he's been in the past two weeks. Because now he finally had her in his arms and nothing else mattered. Not the Authority, not his former friends, and not even this stupid outfit. All that mattered was _them_.

He moved forward to kiss her again, but she covered his mouth with her hands. He rose an eyebrow and his eyes questioned her.

Nikki smirked. "But I don't love you enough to try and get you out of _those_."

He laughed against her hand before removing it and holding it in his own, his fingers slipping in between hers. "Oh, come on now, sweetheart. You're killing me!" He whined before suggesting, "There's a prize at the end?"

Nikki snorted and shook her head. "You mean a sweaty crotch and chafed skin? No, thanks, Scuba man."

The two-toned superstar pouted in a very unmanly fashion. "So much for love." He grumbled before going to nip at her lips.

She moved back laughing and swatting his arm playfully. "Easy there, ninja. You might end up with _that_ problem again." She pointed down to his crotch, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'll rip these stupid pants off if I have to." He growled lightly, eyes zoning in on her exposed neck.

"Are you sure your new mom and dad will be okay with that?" She questioned sarcastically.

Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they can afford me a new pair."

"Well, let's hope they can get them in time for the new Power Rangers movie!"

Seth blinked at her as Nikki started laughing at her own joke again. He knew that he was never going to hear the end of this. But for now he shut her up by hungrily attacking her neck with soft nipping and kisses.

Well, it didn't really shut her up.

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**So, this is clearly based on Seth's new ring gear that I just can't stop laughing at. There was meant to be more snark and such in this story, but it turned out steamy, and then feelsy, and then cutesy, and then steamy again!**

**Reviews are my life source, please send some!**


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